The reassuring words of George Washington Carver came soothingly to me this morning as I greeted the first day following the formal determination of the Republican Party's candidate for president of the United States. My nerves were rattled and knowing that many of my friends on social media would be feeling as I did, I walked up on deck and took a picture of the rising Sun and posted it to Facebook.
Posting a picture of the sunrise over the river where I live is part of my daily ritual and my reminder to take nothing for granted. This morning I also needed to reassure myself that the Earth is still in its right orbit relative to the sun, despite the cataclysmic shock.
Whenever I'm disturbed, messages from 179 national parks I've visited come flooding into my thoughts and feelings and calm me down:
"I like to think of nature as a giant broadcasting station through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only listen," George Washington Carver whispered as I walked through his "Secret Garden" at his birthplace National Monument in Missouri a few weeks ago. "Our creator is the same and never changes despite the names given Him by people here and in all parts of the world. Even if we gave Him no name at all, He would still be there, within us, waiting to give us good on this earth."
I delighted in the images of Dr. George Washington Carver on the trail through the woods at GWC National Monument in Diamond, MO
Oh Dr. Carver! I'll take your word for it! Because how else might a man born into enslavement, an orphan, black as berry juice, with a lisp and a high falsetto voice come to save American agriculture? How else could you become a world renowned scientist, educator and mentor? A member of the British Royal Society of Arts?
"All my life I have risen regularly at four o'clock and have gone into the woods and talked with God," Dr. Carver said.
That experience reinforces my belief that humans have access to supernatural power if we will invest the time, energy and effort to connect with it. As I've tried to practice spending more time in nature and contemplation each day since, I'm grateful for my husband Frank who reminds me that Dr. Carver didn't have all the distractions I have today -- 24-hour TV news, movies and social media that are my default activities. So even if I don't increase by leaps and bound, I'll just keep working toward that goal.
Another happy-making thought came to mind from my visit to Rocky Mountains National Park last month. Visiting the alpine area where plants stay low to the ground to protect themselves from the cold and the wind almost 12,000 feet up the snowcapped mountains, I mentioned to a ranger that his Deputy Superintendent reminded me of my new crush, actor Gerard Butler that I recently discovered in the movie "London has fallen."
Gerard Butler has become one of my new favorite actors and definitely one of the people I'd most like to meet on a trail in a national park.
"Wow! Gerard Butler was here hiking with me a couple weeks ago," the ranger beamed in response.
I like him even more now that I know he loves our parks.
Our national parks are the repository of our cultural and historic legacy and spectacular natural beauty. From Gerard Butler to Greening Youth Foundation's science interns working in parks, people are drawn to the recreation and inspiration they provide. From George Washington Carver National Monument to Mount Denali in Alaska or Fort Jefferson at the mouth of the Florida Straits, they contain incredible stories of the strivings and heroism of our ancestors.
Angelou Ezelio, (3rd from right) is a member of the Next100 Coalition and with her husband James (2nd from left) founded Greening Youth in Atlanta, training interns in science and land management for employment in public lands around the country.
But large swaths of the American public are still clueless about their existence. That's why Frank and I are part of the Next100 Coalition asking President Obama to continue his legacy of adding parks that represent a diverse cross section of ethnicities, landscapes and stories. A Presidential Memo issued on the National Park Service Centennial Anniversary August 25, would outline a vision that is inclusive of all demographic groups. (The President has added units that honor the contributions of women and the LGBT community since the Center for American Progress cited that less than 20% of our 412 units represent diverse groups.)
Senators Cory Booker, Michael Bennet and 25 others have signed on to our letter, and multiple leaders in the House including Raul Grijalva and Alcee Hastings have called upon the public lands agencies to engage diverse Americans as a greater percentage of their users and workforce.
Some of Dr. Carver's myriad inspirational insights are on display in the Visitor Center at the monument.
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So today I will not indulge feelings of depression or instability. Instead I am channeling my experience at the Carver Monument to pay attention to nature, that "giant broadcasting system" and learning the lessons it has to teach me. I'm staying open to be used for good as Dr. Carver allowed himself to be used. Join me in exploring our parks, learning our stories and drawing inspiration from them to help our country achieve our ideal, "with liberty and justice for all."